Recently, the city has placed a 30-foot-long shipping container at Windward Plaza on Venice Beach (by the LAPD substation) to provide some storage for dozens of homeless people, according to Yo! Venice! Volunteers will be staffing the box and checking possessions in and out. Seems like a simple way to keep the beach tidy, right? (It's not the prettiest, but if one 'hood can slap a nice mural on that thing, it's Venice.) But of course it's controversial. The Venice Stakeholders Association, a non-profit group in favor of "slow growth," more parking for locals, and getting homeless people the hell out of Venice, is demanding that the city undergo a lengthy environmental review process for the container.
According to a letter the group has written to the Department of Rec and Parks, the container "constitutes 'development' within the Coastal Zone," meaning it'll need to be permitted by the city and the California Coastal Commission, and that "there is a fair argument that this project, even with mitigation, would cause a significant adverse impact on scenic resources, due to its appearance and its use as a drop-in storage facility," meaning it should have to undergo an environmental impact report process (which can take years).
Either way, the VSA is asking Rec and Parks to "immediately remove this storage locker" or it will "consider filing a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court for an injunction mandating its immediate removal."
· Venice Stakeholders Calls for Coastal Development Permit and Environmental Review of Beachfront Shipping Container [Yo! Venice!]
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